PLATINA3 results for the theme “Market” do address the question on how to shift more transport from road to the inland waterways? Research and discussions took place looking at different elements which affect the options for modal shift. This concerns a.o. load units for cargo and transhipment as well as awareness among shippers, the digital integration in supply chains and the economic barriers. As a final step policy recommendations were made based on the research and discussions which took place.
Work on theme "Fleet" did address the questions how to develop a fleet which performs at low/zero-emission, can cope with extreme water levels and what is needed in terms of financial support and technical regulations? A report was made about the options for vessels to better deal with the low water conditions, with specific good practices. Furthermore, an extensive analysis was made on the status of financial instruments, the required funding support and next steps needed to provide a proper framework for financing the deployment of clean technologies and fuels. Another report was made on options for labelling or indexing vessels to express their environmental performance, including a roadmap. A report was also made on the vessel databases and how to improve quality and quantity of vessel information by linking existing databases and adding new attributes to vessel identification. In the last phase of the project policy recommendations were made for improved and extended regulations to address gaps in the current legal framework for emission reduction. A separate report was made with recommendations for the RD&I agenda for fleet topics.
The theme “Jobs and Skills” focussed on the human resources and specifically on the competences for staff to work with automated vessels and to work with new technologies and fuels in view of the energy transition of IWT. Reports have been made on the required competences and discussions took place at PLATINA3 Stage events. As a final result recommendations were made to CESNI for the implementation of the recommendations regarding the required (new) competences which were well received.
The theme “Infrastructure” focussed on several topics. A report was made for the climate adaptation strategy while another report focussed on the recommendations for developing the required energy infrastructure for IWT along waterways and in ports. A third report addressed digitalisation in waterway management and communication. The fourth report for the theme addressed the question of barriers for infrastructure development and policy recommendations on how to overcome them.
The activity “Roadmap and stakeholder engagement” brought results together from the above mentioned themes. Content was consolidated and further developed into roadmaps for RD&I and policy initiatives. This activity is very relevant for exploitation and dissemination. Stakeholder engagement is organised and as part of this activity, 6 Stage Events were organised with a final event in March in Brussels with high level participation. All presentations, minutes and video registrations of the Stage Events are made available on www.platina3.eu.
Furthermore, a fruitful cooperation was established with the NAIADES III Implementation Expert group to monitor the implementation of the 35 actions from the NAIADES III Action plan. For each meeting of the Expert Group the roadmap report was updated, presented and discussed at the meeting, while raising attention for risks or gaps in terms of the implementation progress. Moreover, an extensive group of stakeholders and related EU projects (e.g. H2020, CEF projects) was contacted and engaged in the PLATINA3 community. In addition, a valuable Advisory Board was set-up to provide technical inputs and feedback.
The Project management & dissemination activity resulted in manuals for the PLATINA3 partners, clear guidelines, document sharing platforms and a well functioning website and LinkedIn channel for external communication and dissemination.
